[Event "U.S. Championship"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2023.10.07"] [Round "3.6"] [White "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2693"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackElo "2786"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [Annotator "Nemcova"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "E36"] [Opening "Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Noa Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/b0nfXV2i/GaumY9Tz"] [Orientation "white"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 O-O 7. e3 b6 8. Nf3 Bb7 9. b3 Nbd7 10. Bb2 c5 11. Be2 Rc8 12. O-O Ne4 13. Qd3 Qe7 14. a4 a5 15. Rac1 Rfd8 16. Qb1 dxc4 17. bxc4 Ng5 18. Nxg5 Qxg5 19. g3 Bc6 20. Qc2 Nf6 21. Rcd1 Qh6 22. h4 Ne4 23. d5?! { The creative Xiong tries a positional pawn sacrifice. } (23. Bf3 { This is a better move that aims to transfer the bishop on the h1-a8 diagonal. } 23... Qg6 24. Bg2) 23... exd5 24. Bg4 dxc4! { Counter-sacrifice! } (24... Rc7?? { would be a giant blunder, losing the game very quickly. } 25. cxd5! Rxd5 (25... Bxd5 26. Qxe4 $18) 26. Qxe4 Rxd1 27. Rxd1 Bxe4 28. Rd8#) (24... Ra8 25. Bf5 $13 { with a complicated game. }) 25. Bxc8 Rxc8 26. Qxc4 Re8 $19 { The engine is pretty brutal here, suggesting that Black is completely winning. It is clear that Black has excellent play on the light squares with a pawn majority on the queenside. Additionally, the king may not feel very safe on g1. } 27. Qe2 Bxa4?! { Caruana mentioned in post-game interview that this capture was premature and he regretted it later. } (27... Qg6 { would be a better move to start targeting the weak light squares. }) 28. Rd5 Bc6 29. Re5 Rxe5 30. Bxe5 Qe6! 31. Bc7 Nc3 32. Qd3 Nd5 33. Bb8 Qe8 34. Bd6 h6 35. Rd1 Qe6 36. Bb8 Nf6 37. Qb1 Be4 38. Rd8+ Kh7 39. Qd1 Qf5 40. Bf4 c4 41. f3 Bd3 42. g4 Qc5 43. Rxd3 cxd3 44. Qxd3+ g6 45. h5 Nd5 46. hxg6+ fxg6 47. Kg2 a4 48. Kg3 Nxf4 49. Qd7+ Kg8 50. exf4 a3 51. Qe6+ Kg7 52. f5 Qc7+ 53. Kf2 gxf5 54. gxf5 Qf7 55. Qxb6 a2 { After some inaccurate moves, the computer evaluates this as equal. Practically speaking, it is still a very difficult position to defend. } 56. Qd4+ Kh7 57. Qa4 h5!? { Caruana is going with another edge pawn for a queen. And even if promotion is unlikely to happen, the pawn will cause a lot of trouble for the white king. } (57... Qc7 { wins according to the engine and tablebases: } 58. f4! (58. Qxa2? Qh2+ $19) 58... Qb6+ 59. Kf3 Qb7+ 60. Ke3 Qg2 61. Qa7+ Kh8 62. Qb8+ Qg8 63. Qe5+ Kh7 64. Qe7+ (64. Qa5 Qg1+ 65. Kf3 a1=Q $19) 64... Qg7 65. f6 Qxe7+ 66. fxe7 a1=Q 67. e8=Q Qe1+ $19) 58. Qa6 Kg7 59. Kg2? (59. f6+ Kh6 60. Qa4 { And the engine claims this position is draw. For us mortals, of course, the details of this position are not easy to understand. }) 59... h4 60. Qa4 Qd5! { The more centralized the queen, the less possible checks for the white queen. } 61. Qg4+ Kf8 62. Qb4+ Kf7 { And White has no checks right now. } 63. Qb2 h3+ $19 64. Kg3 (64. Kxh3 { Capturing this pawn allows Caruana to trade queens and finally promote the a2-pawn. } 64... Qxf3+! 65. Kh4 (65. Kh2 Qh5+ 66. Kg3 Qg5+ 67. Kf2 Qxf5+ 68. Ke2 Qe4+ 69. Kd2 Qg2+ 70. Kc1 (70. Kc3 a1=Q 71. Qxa1 Qg7+ $19) 70... Qf1+ 71. Kd2 a1=Q) 65... Qh1+ 66. Kg5 a1=Q $19) 64... Ke7 (64... Qd6+! { This is the most accurate and fastest route to victory. } 65. Kxh3 Qh6+ 66. Kg2 Qg7+ $19) 65. Qg7+ Kd6 66. Qf8+? (66. Qf6+! { Xiong missed a chance for a perpetual check with this move. }) 66... Ke5 $19 { After this move, Black will find safety for his king and either force a queen trade or promote his a-pawn. } 67. Qh8+ Kxf5 68. Qh5+ Ke6 69. Qe8+ Kf6 70. Qf8+ Kg6 71. Qe8+ Kg7 72. Qe7+ Qf7 73. Qa3 Kg8 74. Qa8+ Kh7 75. Kxh3 Qe6+ 76. Kg2 Qg8+ { 0-1 Black wins. } 0-1